There is nothing worse than feeling unheard at your workplace. It makes you feel invisible, like just another cog in the machine. Each year, you receive an anonymous survey where you are supposed to express your concerns in hopes of being heard. Yet, year after year, nothing changes.
We all experience this feeling, whether we work in a large corporation or a small family-run business. We have good ideas that could benefit the company, yet they often go ignored. Worse still, when we alert management about misbehavior or processes that harm employees and create unnecessary work, we are dismissed or told we are wrong.
When it’s just you, it’s easy to question your own perceptions. However, when multiple employees share similar feelings, it becomes clear that there may be validity in those concerns. Granted, employers are not obligated to heed employees’ suggestions, even when they are valid. Both big corporations and small family-owned businesses typically owe employees little more than a salary—at least, that’s how many of us feel.
Feeling unheard leads to feelings of unappreciation, which do not simply vanish. Instead, they foster resentment and unhappiness with our jobs. We begin to question our motivations for working, prompting us to dust off that old resume and update it. On a particularly bad day, we might even tweak our LinkedIn profiles and browse job boards. When just one employee feels this way, the company might not notice. But when multiple employees feel unheard and unhappy, the company faces a significant problem.
In a workplace suffering from corporate deafness, can anything be done? Probably. The real question is whether anyone is willing to listen and act on employee feedback. One part of the solution lies in training: equipping managers to be effective leaders who genuinely pay attention to their employees. This is fixable if there is the will to make it happen.
Another challenge arises when management is indifferent—whether because they believe the current economic climate means no one will leave, or because a manager feels untouchable as part of the family business. Some companies simply do not care, assuming they can always hire someone new. While it’s true that we are all replaceable, this mindset overlooks the costs involved. Training new employees takes time and money, and high turnover leads to inefficiency and inconsistency in work. Ultimately, management should care.
Can you force anyone to listen or to care? No. However, when undervalued employees reach their breaking point, they may simply choose to leave, taking their knowledge and great ideas with them.
Schpilkes The Blog 